And then there were two in the City’s AAA Bantam 1 Division

The Eastman Selects are now waiting. They won the rural AAA Bantam 1 Championship last night in Niverville defeating the Pembina Valley Hawks by one goal.

The Eastman Selects are now waiting. They won the rural AAA Bantam 1 Championship last night in Niverville defeating the Pembina Valley Hawks by one goal.

The only teams left in the City’s AAA Bantam 1 are the Winnipeg Sharks and the Winnipeg Monarchs. The Sharks won their semi final against the Warriors in six games while the Monarchs swept the Hawks. The City Championship Finals begin this Tuesday at the MTS Iceplex.

What can we expect from this City Championship?

While the Monarchs finished ahead of the Sharks in the standings they were even up when it came to playing each other during the regular season. The two teams split the four games 2-2.

Leading the playoffs in scoring so far is Michael Cicek of the Monarchs who had a five point game. The big rangy centerman scored the winning goal in the fourth game against the Hawks to clinch the series. The Sharks have many players that are like swiss army knives. Leading the way in scoring is Caden Zaplitny and not far behind is massive winger Kalen Reynolds. The cast on the Sharks are stingy and don’t give a lot of time and space.

This series might come down to goaltending. Matthew Kieper has taken the reigns for the Sharks and has shown some really high quality play. The Monarchs are a democracy in goal - alternating Andrew Ness and Keegan Gordon.

All bets are off this playoff City Championship. Both teams show their weaknesses when they play each other. It will come down to which team can rise up when the adversity is against them.